Symphonic Sculpture

Introduction

This week we've looked at a lot of examples of music art installations, and we've looked at a lot of ways of dealing with sound. Then we learned new software that helped us a lot when we were making music.

Music art installation

First, we learn about various methods and techniques for obtaining and processing sounds, such as sampling, cutting, inversion and repetition. After these steps, an ordinary sound can be transformed into fantastic audio.

Second, these musical installations place great emphasis on interactivity. Numerous members of the audience become participants and the process of their interaction with the installation becomes part of the work. This has given us a lot of inspiration and inspired us to think about art.

It seems to me that, these days, simple music, painting, or sculpture, can scarcely satisfy the taste of the art connoisseur. As technology and society evolve, people's experiences and desires expand, and audiences demand improved sensory stimulation. As a result, it is inevitable for artists to add interactivity to their work, which also forces countless art practitioners to start thinking from audiences' perspective.

Microtonal Wall

Max

This week we learned about a new piece of software - Max. It is a visual music editor, but instead of requiring us to write code or programs, we create certain sounds, such as wind, current, vibrato, etc., by concatenating different instructions. This software can better help creators, both to simulate real-world sounds and to explore original sound effects, which is extremely convenient.

Max

Feeling

But I must admit, this software is still a little difficult for me. I often can't keep up with the professor in class, so I miss a lot of opportunities.

This week, we need to make a sculpture about music, and there are many factors to consider. Such as Amplification, Repetition, Modification, Geography of Space and Sampling.

Material introduction

In order to make the sculpture easy to carry, I chose some small objects and recorded their sounds. Raw materials are as follows:
1. A gourd pendant
2. A stone
3 A worn plastic bag

Tao

Analysis

I brought the gourd pendant from home and keep it in my room. The sound of it falling on the floor is very crisp, the seeds inside it also vibrate slightly during this period, and the friction sound of worn plastic bags inadvertently rolled up by air on the floor is also very interesting.

Tao(2)

Tao(3)

Tao(4)

Introduction of statue

It is inspired by Taoism, the indigenous religion of China. According to legend, Laozi, the founder of Taoist philosophy, rode a green bull into the vast desert at Hangu Pass, leaving behind him the world-famous philosophical classic Tao Te Ching. Later, the Taoists named him one of the major deities of Taoism in his honor.

As one of the mystic symbols of Taoism, the calabash represents happiness and longevity, so it is the main body of the statue. Black stone slabs as a base, with white plastic bags for contrast.The sculpture is tiny, but it expresses a secret Chinese aesthetic.

In audio terms, the combination of sounds produced by these objects is extremely similar to desert sounds, especially the sound of seeds colliding as the lake gourd across the floor, which is exactly the same as the sound of sand being whipped up by the wind. Coupled with the description of Laozi in Taoist mythology, I named this work "Tao".